Movie Review: Rangoon..not a very memorable visit

Vishal Bhardwaj – there is now many a movie I have gone for, just because that’s the name of the director behind it. Ever since Kamineyy I have kept this director on a mantle, hoping for the same magic to repeat. Despite monstrosities like Matru ki bijli..I persevered. I wonder now though, if I may have placed too much faith and if its time for a reality check.

I don’t think there’s still any doubt on his directorial skills. There are plenty on display even with his latest offering of Rangoon. Rangoon is visually alluring and has moments of perfect harmony of expert cinematography and production design combined with directorial flair. The challenge though is that the sum of its parts doesn’t add up to a beautiful symphony. The main culprit, as is oft the case – is the storytelling.

While set in the backdrop of World War II, the story doesn’t really need a canvas like that. What could’ve been a story of real wartime struggles, or love in the time of war – instead just becomes a story of love which happens to be in the backdrop of war. There are plenty of quirks – as is often the case with Vishal Bhardwaj movies, the English general with his penchant for Hindi, the inside jokes on Churchill and Hitler – a lot of which seem banal and take away from the movie rather than add to it.

If you are able to sit through the extra long run time of close to two and a half hours, it is largely due to the strong performances from its three leads. Whatever faults the movie has, casting is not one of them. Saif Ali Khan doesn’t have a deeply complex character, but his wonderfully understated performance will have you wondering if there are deeper emotions that never come to the fore. Kangna Ranaut is brilliant, with her tough act of Julia – she slips under the skin of her character with effortless ease and delivers with panache. Shahid Kapoor is by no means the weak link, but given his acting repertoire his character rarely challenges him. Still he has great screen presence in his ample airtime on screen.

With a stronger storyline and good writing this movie could’ve done wonders. Instead, it gets relegated to being a wonder perhaps in the director’s vision, that doesn’t translate as much on screen. The romances are unconvincing, the change in characters' motivations and emotions, even more so. The umpteen songs don’t help matters – not one of them is memorable and only serve to slow down the already slow pacing of the movie making you glance at the watch plenty of times.


Rangoon had a good canvas and backdrop. With ample time spent on its setting, one hoped that the story would meld smoothly into it and provide an original and refreshing experience. Instead, despite a few well presented moments, the overall package is predictable and not memorable – making Rangoon not the most favored destination this week.